Welcome back. Hey, this is Mary Ethel Eckard with Drawing Near. This show continues our 40 days of prayer for the new year. We are in the first chapter of Genesis, discovering more of God s attributes and character, and seeing how scripture throughout the Bible confirms what we read in these same verses. Each day, I add a prayer to my blog, maryetheleckard.com, that includes the attributes or characteristics of God we discuss in this podcast. Each week, we will cover more scripture, discover more about God, and dig deeper into the Bible both Old and New Testaments to see how the themes are woven throughout. Journey with me and allow the words spoken and written to saturate your heart and spirit and prepare you for the year ahead with great faith and belief in the power of God to create, change, and improve your life. Stay with me. A few years ago, I was visiting my friend Jan in South Carolina. One morning after pouring a cup of coffee, I joined her as she sat quietly with her Bible on her lap and a devotional book in her hand. She looked up with a smile and began to read out loud. She read the morning devotional from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers, and then read scripture referenced from the devotional. I had not been read to since I was a child, so hearing the words from her lips brought an unfamiliar comfort to my spirit. Since that time, I have made it a practice to read scripture and/or devotionals to others when they come to visit. And when I was in Africa a few years ago and roomed with my friend Beth, I read to her each night before bedtime. She still talks about the positive impact that made on that trip. This week, I am going to read scripture to you from Genesis 1, verses 3-13. Take in a deep breath and relax as you hear God s word: And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day. And God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse sky. And there was evening, and there was morning the second day. And God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. God called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters he called seas. And God saw that it was good. 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 1
Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning the third day. GOD IS PERSONAL What do we learn about God from the verses above? We learn He is PERSONAL. He names His creation, and He uses the names in a loving and honoring way. God called the light day. God called the darkness night. God called the expanse sky. God called the dry ground land. God called the gathered waters seas. At the beginning of time, God gave each element of creation a name. Names are important. Life is fleeting; it is as the grass in the field, but a breath. We are challenged, by internal and external forces, to make the best of our time on earth, to leave our mark, to make a name for self. Yet scripture challenges us differently to love God and love others. To take the time to know and remember the names of those in our life. To devote our heart to worship and adoration of God. He knows and calls us by our name. Scripture tells us He knows the number of stars and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147:4). How much more He knows us, the only of His creation that is made in His image. The only of His creation that receives His breath at life. Do you doubt you are known to God? Do you doubt He sees you, knows your circumstances, and your name? He not only knows your birth name, He knows your eternal name. Revelation 21:17 encourages us that one of the blessings of being God s child is that He gives us a new name, known only to us, that represents the change of character He has brought about in us. He will never forget a name, confuse it or blaspheme it. Names are so valuable to the Lord that He named creation as it was formed and brought the newly created beasts and birds to Adam to be named. (Genesis 2:19-20). Let us give honor to the name of the Lord that is due Him. Let us not use His name in vain or dishonor Him with our words and actions. Rather, let us lift His name in adoration and worship with the very breath He gave us that sustains life. He is, after all, the God who sees us from the inside out. GOD IS OUR PROVIDER In verses 9 and 10, we are told God gathered the waters and dry ground. As He created, He named and gathered. Just as God gathered the land and the sea, He gathers His people. He gathers us to worship Him. (Psalm 102:22) He gathers us to fulfill His purpose. (Nehemiah 1:9) 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 2
He gathers the nations. (Zechariah 14:2) He gathers the lost and wounded to comfort them. (Isaiah 40:11, Jeremiah 23:3) He gathers His children (Luke 13:34) He gathers His children, one by one. (Isaiah 27:12) Not only does He gather, He summons. To summon is to call with authority. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 50:1, The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. As provider, God calls resources from the earth to meet the needs of His children. The winds and the waves obey His voice. (Mark 4:41). From the east, He summons a bird of prey; from a far-off land, He summons a man to fulfill His purpose. (Isaiah 46:11) Our need for provision no matter what that need is can be met by God. Scripture says He knows what we need before we ask. Have you ever received money from an unexpected place at just the right time? God summoned those resources for you did you give Him thanks? Have you been surprised by a card or email that came on a day you needed encouragement? Give thanks to God He summoned that as well. Not only does God gather us under His wing to protect us, He gathers us to provide for us. His plan for our future is good because He is good. GOD IS OUR SUSTAINER In verses 11-12, we learn how God put a plan into place to sustain the production of plants and trees. He did this by creating seed-bearing plants that would produce and reproduce. The seed from an apple tree is used to produce additional apple trees. The apple tree produces apples. To have more apple trees, more apple seeds are planted. What is sown an apple seed will produce apples. What is planted will be the same as what will be harvested. The principle of seed bearing plants and trees guaranteed an ongoing production of like plants. Why am I repeating this explanation? Too drive home a point. At creation, God put many principles in place. Scripture teaches, For since the creation of the world God s invisible qualities His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Romans 1:20 In these verses, we see the principle of sowing and reaping. What is sown is what we reap. We sow apple seeds, we reap apples. This is the physical manifestation of seed and harvest. There is also a spiritual manifestation of planting and reaping. In the New Testament, we find scripture that applies this principal to us. 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 3
God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8 Every word, behavior and action that we exhibit is a seed planted. It s one of the hidden laws of existence. And every seed is productive and brings results. When we plant selfish seeds, we reap loneliness, sorrow, sinful attitudes and evil. When we plant seeds pleasing to God, we reap joy, peace, love, and everlasting life. The harvest for both seed types often takes a while to mature, but one can be sure the harvest will come. This is not to say everything bad that comes into our lives is because of seeds we have sown. We cannot control the actions of others, and often we reap what we did not sow because of sin in the world. Our role is to plant what we desire and turn to God in our pain and brokenness, so He can make good from life s ugly. He has a way of taking those things meant to harm us and using them to raise us higher in Him. We close with verse 13. And there was evening, and there was morning the third day. On the third day, God implemented a system of re-production, so the earth would not face barrenness. In putting the principle of reproduction in place for plants, he was preparing the way for the reproduction of all animals, creatures, and mankind. The third day is significant here. Even before man was created, God sustained man s physical existence on earth. And He did this on the third day. God knew when He created man that sin would enter the world and man would have life and face death. He knew man would need to reproduce in able to keep the world populated. Just as God created the first fruit trees to reproduce, He would create the first man and woman to reproduce. The man would plant the seed and the woman would incubate and birth the seed. On the third day, God also released the principle of bringing the dead to life. A seed does not grow until it is put into the ground and dies. Once dead, it springs forth to new life, taking root and pushing through the soil to re-produce its kind. What else happened on the third day in scripture? The natural man of Jesus died on the cross and was placed in the ground. He was raised from the dead on the third day, sprouting to new life. Spiritual life. Because of his natural death and his spiritual resurrection, we are offered the same re-production. Our natural man (sinful nature) must die so our spiritual man can come to life. After his resurrection, Jesus walked the earth for 40 days. There s that 40 days again, a little addition to what we discussed about 40 days on the last show. After His 40 days on earth, Jesus ascended into heaven and nine days later, He sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to reside in us. We do not have to wait until our death for spiritual life. For John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Eternal life is spiritual life. 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 4
Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit who resides in us. This would not have happened had Jesus not been raised from the dead. With His Spirit in us, we produce fruit fruit that will last. Spiritual fruit. Fruit that has seeds, that we sow and reap. What is this fruit? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. We can plant seeds from the fruits mentioned above and reap the same seeds. These are spiritual seeds that will produce a spiritual harvest in the right season of life. The nine characteristics of God we have covered these first seven days of 2019 will be the focus of our first fourteen days of prayer on this 40-day journey. What are these characteristics? Let me list them again: He is the Alpha, the first He is the Omega, the last He is Eternal He is Present He is Purposeful He establishes boundaries He is Personal He is Provider He is Sustainer That s all I need to say in this episode. I will close in the same way I began My goal is to show how the entire Bible is one story and how things from the beginning of time are themed throughout scripture and brought to a greater understanding as we read through the Bible. Be encouraged you are His creation, He knows and calls you by name, He sustains and provides for you all the days of our life. To God be the Glory. The 40 days of prayer can be found on my website, www.maryetheleckard.com and are also daily posted on my Facebook Page, Mary Ethel Eckard. I encourage to visit the website or Facebook page daily to discover these prayers. Pray them over yourself and your family. Let me close with this prayer: Lord, you alone are worthy of worship and praise. May I daily lift my eyes to you. Father, may your fresh waters wash over me daily, keeping me alive in you. A daily renewal of faith, hope, love and outreach will keep me from growing stale in my spiritual walk. Stir my faith and willingness to initiate relationships with those outside my circle of influence. Help me broaden my world by breaking the routine, speaking with those I do not know, and inviting them into a conversation. May I be a breath of fresh air wherever I go. May I represent you in a way that is a draw rather than a repellant. May I be willing to take the first step to broaden my circle and welcome others in. Otherwise, the waters of my life will run stale and make no impact for your kingdom. Amen. 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 5
Remember, God s word brings hope, freedom, and peace to those who hear it. Send this podcast to someone who needs a word of encouragement today. A transcript of this podcast is posted on my website, maryetheleckard.com under the LISTEN tab. To those who are supporting this podcast with a monthly donation, thank you so much. You sustain me. If you would like to support my ministry, you can do that in two ways. Order my book for yourself or for a friend. It is entitled The making of a dragonfly, following Christ through the winds of change. It is available on Amazon, Walmart.com or barnes&noble.com. Or you can become a monthly subscriber to the podcast by tapping the link in this episode s description or visit anchor.fm/mary-ethel-eckard. Thank you for tuning in to the show. This is Mary Ethel Eckard, signing off. 2019 40 Days of Prayer (week 2) Mary Ethel Eckard P a g e 6